Between Sleep and Awake
by StarvingLunatic
Summary: Soi Fong has some trouble sleeping thanks to these dreams she keeps having.
1. Dreaming

I don't own these characters.

Between Sleep and Awake

1: Dreaming

Soi Fon awoke with a start, panting and sweating, as she shot up from her small, drenched pillow. Her wild hair was stuck to her forehead and the back of her neck thanks to all of the sweating that she had been doing while sleeping. Chest heaving, she panted, as if trying to suck all of the air out of the room.

Silver eyes scanned the area, taking in her surroundings and attempting to figure out what was going on. Darkness blanketed what she was certain was her room. Being on high alert, she made sure that she was the only person in the room. Everything seemed to be in order, which did not explain why she felt like she had just swam a marathon while being submerged in bliss.

Wiping her damp ebony bangs from her forehead, she tried to calm her breathing. She was having trouble getting her lungs to obey any orders from her brain. She was panting so badly that she felt like clawing at her yukata to get it off, as if that would ease the pressure in her chest. She needed air, in more ways than one.

"I need to get out of here…" she muttered to herself, shaking her head and stretching her limbs. Everything felt so tight and somewhat disgusting, even though deep down, there was something more that she refused to acknowledge.

Her pale skin was sticky, but felt like it was on fire and she needed to cool off. The captain ripped herself from her futon to go step outside for a moment. She was hoping that there would be a cold breeze to put out the inferno raging inside of her. An inferno brought on by a dream.

"What a dream…" she breathed out the comment, sounding almost impressed by the vision.

Soi would rather not think of the dream, but the image was currently tattooed to her frontal lobes. Her brain would be stuck on it for a while to come; she knew that for a fact. It was not the first time that she had had such a dream, but she thought that she was over them.

"I should be over them. I'm not some hormonal kid anymore…" she growled, a hard frown settling on her face. "It's been so long since I've had these nonsense mental slips. I have grown up and out of this nonsense. I have gotten over all of that. I have," she tried to assure herself.

Of course, it was hard to believe that she had gotten over anything if she was having such dreams and then having to try to talk herself into believing that she was over anything. Shaking her head, she tried to come up with a reasonable explanation for what she had concocted in her sleep. She was over things, so there had to be some other reason for her to have such a ridiculous dream.

"Maybe I ate something bad…" Soi considered as she rubbed her stomach and marching toward the door to step outside. The hardwood floor barely made a noise under her feet as she walked across the room.

Mentally, she went through the things that she had eaten that day. She had not had much dinner, as she never did. What she did have seemed fine to her. Nothing tasted differently than it usually did. The same could be said of her breakfast and she had not had lunch, so she did not understand why she had had such a dream. _Well, the reason for the dream couldn't be blamed on food if everything was normal in that area_.

Relief washed over Soi like a cool spring as she stepped outside onto the veranda. A soft sigh escaped her lips as the crisp air hit her inflamed flesh, passing through her light sleepwear of a plain white yukata. Her body was able to relax slightly thanks to the breeze. Taking an breath, the humble scent of the night helped put her at ease just a little more.

_Yes, this definitely seems much better_, she commented to herself. Wiggling her toes, she found that even the cold wood beneath her felt soothing. It was like she was being caressed by the night air, calming her down quite a bit and taking the edge off of her soul. _I might even be able to go back to sleep at this rate_. Taking another deep breath, she ran her hand through her drenched hair, noticing how much she had sweat.

"I might have to take a cold shower too," Soi mumbled to the dark, wiping sweat and hair from her pale brow. But, for now the nighttime wind was going to hold her while she tried to figure out why her mind kept bringing up such images. "What if I'm under some sort of magic spell Yes, maybe someone that is proficient in the arts used some spell and was making me see such haunting things?" She frowned at the thought that someone might have actually used magic on her without her noticing. "What kind of captain does that make me?" she growled. "What kind of warrior does that make me?"

Thinking on it for a moment longer, she was able to shake those thoughts away because it brought on too many strange questions. What type of spell would make her see such things? Why would a spell be making her see those dreams? Who would know to make her see such things? How would someone be able to bewitch her and she not notice? Maybe it was just an accident of a spell. There were too many possibilities there and it was not a simple solution.

Maybe it was her body acting up from something else, she considered. What if she had been poisoned? Her frown deepened at the thought.

"Damn it, what if that sick bastard Mayuri was experimenting on me? I'll kick his ass all around the Soul Society until he gives me an antidote and then I'll keep kicking his ass when I'm sure cured and I'm sure he's sorry and won't do anything so stupid again," she proclaimed, making a tight fist and staring at her balled up hand. She needed an antidote if that was the case because thanks to those dreams, she had not had a full night's sleep in a long time.

In truth, Soi did not sleep much, but the sleep that she did get, she honestly needed. She had not had her usual four hours since… that fight. She did not want to acknowledge that _that_ had something to do with her current sleepless nights. Nope, she was over that, so the fight certainly was not the reason, she silently assured herself.

The silver-eyed captain turned her eyes to the moon, shining bright in the midnight sky and she almost had a mental slip. She almost thought of _her_. She nearly wondered if _she_ was under that same moon, which might have actually brought the captain some comfort if she allowed the thoughts to sneak into her mind. But then again, the thought of _her_ being under the same moon might have so frustrated her somewhat, just like the dreams. After all, she was examining every nutty notion that came to mind except for the obvious one, which involved _her_. And she was going to keeping trying to avoid that elephant in the living room if it was possible because she wanted to believe that she was over _that_.

But, in reality, underneath it all, and in a dark place at the back of her mind that she pretended did not exist, Soi knew that she could not be totally over _it_. After all, she had collapsed in tears after losing the battle, so it was hard to believe that she was over it, no matter how many times that she told herself otherwise. She just wanted so badly to be over it because she was aware that if she was not, there was only more agony and heartache waiting for her. Like most people, the Second division Captain liked to avoid pain and suffering if she could.

Soi wanted to believe that she had learned her lesson from the first time. After all, she had pledged that woman her life, heart, and soul. She had asked for nothing in return really, except to be near _her_. Such a little thing in exchange for everything that made up who she was and what had she got in return for all of her loyalty and everything else? She was abandoned like a forgotten book or a useless trinket or a shoe that was outgrown. Her jaw tensed as she thought about it.

She would rather not go through that again, but it seemed that her mind and body had not learned its lesson yet. Her heart was back up from the knockout, looking to go another round, but she was not going to acknowledge that. She was throwing in the towel for her heart before it got killed in the ring. Her heart was not accepting that, though.

"Yoruichi-sama…" Soi whispered to the wind and then she covered her mouth with her hand as if she had just said the worst thing in the world. "Damn it," she muttered and then decided to just ignore that she had even said anything. No, that name had not just escaped her lips, she promised herself.

Casting her cool metallic eyes away from the moon, she found blame in it for making her do such foolish things. The glowing disc hung silently in the air, not accepting or denying fault, merely mocking the slender woman with its presence and the possibility that it was bearing witness to the one she longed for. Dull clouds passed by overhead, hiding her from the moon's gaze and she decided to take her leave while the bothersome heavenly body was no longer gawking at her with its disrespectful stare.

Soi's shoulders, usually tight and square, were currently slouched ever-so slightly as she started back toward her room. She was not sure what she would do once she was back there, so she turned around before she even got to the door and decided to go for a walk. She was ready to do anything that would keep her awake a little while longer, not wanting to admit to herself that she actually liked her dreams and would not mind going back to sleep if it meant more of the same. A subconscious part of her mind accepted and welcomed those delightful haunting specters that visited her almost every night now.

"I need to occupy my mind before I dare go back to that room," she stated.

On her walk, she did not take in anything around her really. She knew the place well enough to know what she was passing as she stepped off of the veranda, without anything on her feet. She started down a stone path, which went through a lush garden that she never took in during the day and was not going to bother with trying to appreciate at night. The clouds in the sky parted, bringing back the irksome moon, which she ignored. Insects and rodents were out, scampering about the place, but she blocked out any noise coming from them. She was just trying to concentrate on getting her mind together. She was failing.

Wandering never helped matters. While walking around in the dark, Soi's mind typically traveled further than her feet could ever imagine going because her mind usually went right where she did not want it to go. _Yoruichi_…

"Damn it," Soi muttered again as she realized that she had thought of _her_ again. "Get out of my head," she demanded of her former master, even though she knew that was not going to work. "And get out of my heart…" she whispered in despair, her eyes feeling suspiciously wet. Roughly, she rubbed her eyes with her palms, hoping to dispel all emotions from them as well as her body altogether.

Unfortunately for her, Yoruichi was in Soi Fon's head and underneath her skin. It was like Yoruichi was a part of her, infused with ever nerve in her body. Whenever her mind wandered, she thought of the older woman. Some memory always came back to her if any of her senses were triggered. Yoruichi haunted her, crawling through her soul like some spectral tape worm.

She itched for that woman and dreamed of her at night, refusing to admit that only left her hungering for more. She had sworn that she was over it, but after fighting with Yoruichi and seeing the cocoa-skinned woman again, she had learned otherwise. She wanted so badly to be over it, to stop feeling the way that she did since she knew that the intense emotions were not returned.

The feeling was doing nothing for her, but making it impossible to sleep and driving her insane since she now thought that the moon mocked her by existing. She needed to get her head back together and for that to happen, she needed to stop thinking about Yoruichi. _Good luck on that_, her mind seemed to laugh at her.

"I can get over Yoruichi-sama. I've been without her for a whole century and I've done fine for myself. I hadn't gone crazy and I didn't commit suicide or something else extreme. I've been fine without her and I can go on being fine. No problem… right?" Soi seemed to be asking herself that question, so she decided to answer it. "Of course, I'll be fine. I made it this far without her and I will go ever further without her," she promised herself in a strong tone.

_How hard could it be?_ It was not like she was going to see Yoruichi again anytime soon. That knowledge in and of itself should be enough for her to stop acting like some lovesick kitten, like before. Except, it actually had not been enough before considering the fact that she was right back where she started over a century ago. _Damn it, why's this all so complicated?_ She did not know and it did not help.

The ebony-haired captain sighed and held her face in her hands for a little while. "Just stop thinking about it. This isn't going to help getting over her, after all, so just stop thinking about it," she ordered herself. She repeated those words over and over again in her head, like they were her new mantra in life.

She continued on walking when she was certain that her commands were being obeyed. Once she felt like everything was going to be all right, she returned to her room. She laid back down in her futon, hoping that she could get another couple of hours of resting while her mind was clear.

-8-8-8-8-

Soi Fon woke for a second time as far as she knew. There were a couple of key differences on her second time up, though. She was not covered in sweat now, even though she was underneath a blanket and she knew that the air in her room was usually very still, which made it hot a good deal of the time. She was about to sit up when she noticed the next thing wrong with her, which was that she was nude. Her milky skin was just on display under the thin, black cover over her, causing her to yelp in surprise. The noise caused her to take notice of the final difference between her first time up and now.

"You're awake, huh?" an amused and very familiar voice said, making Soi turn to her right.

"Yoruichi-sama!" Soi Fon practically squeaked when she saw the cocoa-skinned female sitting right next to her. She gulped hard when she saw that her former master was just as naked as she was. If it were possible her silver eyes would have fallen out of her skull and rolled out of the door. A scarlet blush then invaded her whole body, but since she was covered and it was dark, it was hard to see.

"You were expecting someone else?" Yoruichi inquired with a playful grin tugging at her lips. Her golden eyes sparkled with mischief and delight in the shadow-covered room.

Soi opened her mouth to respond, but closed it quickly because she was not sure what to say. She was not expecting anyone, after all. She did not even know what the hell was going on!

"Um…Yoruichi-sama…" Soi trailed off because there were so many questions to ask and she was not sure where to start. It did not help matters that she could not think straight with her former master sitting there naked as the day she was born and acting like it was completely normal.

"Hmm?" Yoruichi hummed the sound as she eyed Soi like a stalking cat, just waiting to pounce on her prey.

The pale captain could not help gulping again because of the purple-haired woman's hungry expression. She figured that she had better pick a question and quick before she found out why she was being looked at as if she was the main course for a late supper. She decided to go with the obvious first.

"Yoruichi-sama, what are you doing here?" Soi inquired in a small, almost timid voice. Her eyes focused on the blanket covering her, mostly to keep her from getting distracted by such tempting cocoa skin.

Yoruichi laughed as if she had been told a great joke. "I'm here to see you, of course," she answered as if it was obvious.

Soi's molten silver eyes went wide with that response and she was certain her heart stopped for some very precious seconds. She was incredulous to what she was hearing. She would sooner believe that the world was flat than her former master had actually come to see her and nothing more. No, no, no, she wanted to know the truth.

"Seriously, what're you doing here?" the captain asked again, now sounding a bit more sure of herself.

"Hmm… I wonder," Yoruichi said, still grinning that crooked smile of hers and she leaned over to Soi, apparently uncaring of their current state of undress.

Soi clutched the blanket to her as if it would act like a shield, not sure why she needed the protecting, but holding it just the same. The cover did not stop Yoruichi's advance and she pulled up to the point where she and Soi were nose to nose with each other. Yoruichi tilted her head slightly to the left and Soi made very sure not to breathe. She was not sure why she was holding her breath, but better safe than sorry, her mind commented.

"What am I doing here?" Yoruichi echoed, purposely pronouncing the words hard, so that her lips almost came into contact with Soi's mouth.

"Th-tha-that's wha-what I ask…" Soi stammered in a mumble, peering down at Yoruichi with some fear in her eyes.

"I told you the answer. I'm here to see you," Yoruichi answered smoothly.

"Really?" the Chinese woman inquired in disbelief. Her voice sounded much like the squeak of a mouse because she could feel the heat coming from her former master, not to mention she could feel Yoruichi's breath right on her face. It would have been absolutely sweet and pleasing to her senses if only she was not feeling so anxious.

"Really."

"Why?" Soi asked, her voice still tiny and her eyes remained locked on the mouth near hers. For some reason, she did not trust that mouth to remain on its best behavior. Of course, she did not trust her own mouth much either.

"You're gonna make me think you don't want me here if you keep this up. You don't want me here, little bee?" Yoruichi countered, leaning in just a little bit more as if she was going to touch her mouth to her ex-bodyguard. She then pouted as if she was genuinely hurt.

Soi could not even figure out what she wanted to say. A lone bead of sweat ran down her pale cheek. She gulped for what felt like the umpteenth time because of the space between her and Yoruichi, or the lack there of anyway. Her throat had gone dry, so she did need the gulp that she took. She began trembling uncontrollably because of her nervousness with the whole situation.

Yoruichi noticed the shivering and decided to comment on it. "You're shaking. You must be cold. I'll warm you up," she volunteered in a low, sultry tone. Her expression was utterly devilish as she made that offer.

Soi was about to object, but she was not fast enough; that was the story of her life when it came to Yoruichi it seemed. She was practically tackled by the chocolate-skinned female. She yelped something that sounded like her former master's name as she fell back, but Yoruichi did not respond to her verbally. The playful female did answer in a surprising way, kissing Soi gently, but deeply. Soi was shocked into stillness for a moment. _What the hell is going on!_ Soi screamed in her head.

Once Soi's brain rebooted, she returned the sweet embrace. _Damn the answers_, her mind said. She needed to just enjoy the delightful experience that was going on. She closed her silver eyes as a slow, heavenly feeling crept through her system starting at her lips and working its way down her body. It all felt so wonderful.

"Yoruichi-sama…" Soi whispered cutely as the older woman pulled away. Her eyes remained closed, sealed thanks to the passion in that kiss.

"Believe me now, my little Soi?" Yoruichi asked and her voice alone to Soi Fon that the violet-haired warrior was smiling.

Soi Fon could only nod; her brain did not know any relevant words to answer the question at the moment. Yoruichi chuckled, thinking that the fair-skinned woman was just too adorable. The sweet sound caused silver eyes to drift open and Soi was surprised by what was staring back at her. Soi could practically see her former master's thoughts on her from the sparkle in Yoruichi's golden eyes.

The violet-haired female leaned in for another fiery kiss and Soi pretty much surrendered to her right then and there. Dark arms wrapped around Soi's petite form, pulling her closer to the place that she desired to be most, held by Yoruichi. The blanket dropped between them, forgotten for the night.

-8-8-8-8-

Soi Fon shot up from her futon again, panting heavily, her chest rising and falling as if there was a pump being pressed behind her ribs. Her breath was coming out as if she had run a marathon without taking time to catch her breath. Once again, she was sweating, her hair and pajamas now sticking to her as if they were her own skin. There was something more than that she had discovered once she shifted her thighs uncomfortably.

"Oh, come on, from a dream?" Soi groaned in disbelief when she realized that she was covered in more than just sweat. She felt like a horny teenager thanks to that.

Soi flung her covers from her body as if they had insulted her and then got up to go take a cold shower; it was a necessity now. Frowning, she glared down at her traitorous body for so freely and willing giving into delusions of her rotting mind. Things were now at a completely embarrassing level.

"This isn't even hormones. This is insanity. I've lost my damn mind, all to _her_," Soi snarled. "Why the hell is this happening? How the hell can I stop it before it gets any worse? What if it does get worse? I can't take this anymore."

She could not believe what she was going through and she was honestly glad that no one knew. Talking to someone about it was out of the question too. The last thing she needed was for it to get out that she was like a perverted schoolboy. Even her fellow captains would tease her about it and no underling would ever respect her again.

"I have to deal with this myself."

She had to stop having those dreams soon, she ordered herself. It was just embarrassing and they were not doing her any good. She was going to overcome those dreams, she silently vowed. She was going to get over Yoruichi if it was the last thing that she would ever do.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Yoruichi is in Soi's room. Is it a dream or is it reality?


	2. Reality check

I don't own these characters.

2: Reality check

Soi Fon seemed to be having a troubled sleep. Well, she might describe it as troubled later on when she woke up. If someone else saw her, that person might not put it in such a way. It was not so much troubled as it was active.

Shifting, tossing, and turning Soi was tangled in her blanket, like the coils of a boa. Her skin was a bit flushed. Every now and then, low moans and whimpers escaped her throat. Every few seconds the whimpers would become deep pants, as if she was surfacing for air from under water. There was even a grunt mixed in after a few minutes.

"Oh, god…" she muttered, followed by a husky groan.

She clawed at her futon underneath her with her blunt nails and managed to kick most of her cover off of herself. None of that woke her up, though. Instead it was a sudden pressure on her chest that woke her up because she was having trouble breathing. It was not a pleasant sort of trouble and could not be ignored.

Silver eyes shot open in a panic when she realized that something was pressing down on her ribs. Sitting up immediately, her gaze darting around her room for some hint of danger. All she saw were the usual shadows around the sparsely decorated space. But, she knew that something had been on her and she wondered what it was.

"Who or what is in here?" Soi pondered in a low voice, alert and ready to take on any threat as soon as she could find it.

And then she heard it, it being some light snoring coming from an odd place—her lap. Her gaze shifted downward and she had to blink a few times to make sure she was not seeing things. There was a black cat resting soundly in her lap, as if the creature belonged there. She immediately whom it was that had intruded upon her slumber, even if it was a restless one.

"Yoruichi-sama!" Soi gasped rather loudly with the shock evident on her light colored features.

The cat, to her credit, did not move at all. Soi Fon looked around, almost in a panic to find out where she was. It looked like she was in her room, but then again…

"Oh, I get it," the pale captain muttered. Suddenly, she began to laugh out loud with much mirth, causing her shoulders to shake heavily. What struck her as so funny was that this was another dream, she was sure of it. That made sense. "Fine, if this is another one of those crazy dreams, all I have to do is wake up. I'll be in my room and everything will be normal. If I do it quickly, I won't even need another shower," she told herself. "Now, the real issue is how in the world I can go about waking myself up before my dream gets as out of hand as the last one did?"

Soi was about to try an old cliché and pinch herself, but the wily feline in her lap shifted and had the nerve to cuddle into her stomach, which put a halt to her plans. She tensed and yelped while a hot blush soared from her neck to the top of her head. _What the hell is going on!_

"Oh, right, it's a dream," Soi reminded herself, which helped her remain calm. It was just a dream. She needed to wake up quick, she thought edgily.

Soi went with her plan to pinch herself, but as she shifted to do so, the cat moved with her. Each time that she raised her hand, the cat turned in her lap in some manner. After nearly a minute of such behavior, she quickly pinched herself and yelped because of how hard she did it.

"What's with all the noise?" the feline muttered in a groggy tone.

Silver eyes went wide and a small "eep" escaped Soi because she did not wake up as she hoped to do. But Yoruichi did wake up, which definitely was not part of the plan. The cat yawned, mouth opened wide, tongue hanging out as sleep was taken from her. She then stretched in Soi's lap, paws pressing into her thighs. Before silver-eyed woman could have anymore of an overly dramatic reaction, Yoruichi turned her attention to Soi.

"Morning already?" the cat asked, rubbing her eye with one paw as she made herself comfortable back in the Chinese woman's lap.

"Yoruichi-sama, what's going on?" Soi Fon demanded to know in a very tiny, almost scared voice while making sure not to move at all. Okay, so it was more a question filled with confusion than it was a demand, but she would have liked for it to be a demand.

"I thought we were sleeping," Yoruichi commented obviously, ignoring Soi's obvious nervousness.

"Wha-wha-what're you doing here?" the captain inquired, stammering as she had a bad habit of doing in the presence of her former master. _I need to get it together. I'm supposed to be over her, but here I am stumbling through words like a lovesick child!_

"Sleeping," Yoruichi pointed out. "Or at least I was until my mattress started moving all over the place," she remarked, a near smile on her kitty face.

"But, why are you sleeping on me?" Soi asked, her nervous excitement starting to take over and making her raise her voice.

The cat shrugged her little, narrow shoulders. "No reason," she answered in a nonchalant tone, scratching her ear deftly. She looked away, somehow making things seem like no big deal.

"What do you mean 'no reason'?" Soi inquired, eyebrows drawing in and wrinkling her forehead. She expected something more for an answer than what had been given to her.

Yoruichi shrugged again. "I just felt like seeing you, so I came to see you," she explained. It was that easy to her.

"What do you mean you just felt like seeing me? You never felt like 'just seeing' me before!" Soi huffed. She was now a cross between angry and embarrassed, yet still holding her usual anxiety that came with Yoruichi's presence. It did not help matters that her former master was just laying comfortably in her lap.

"I'm not sure what it was. Maybe it was nostalgia or just memories from seeing you not too long ago. The point is, I felt like seeing you. You don't want to see me?" Yoruichi inquired and then that devilish smirk of hers crept on to her face.

It was easy to see the expression, even when she was in her feline form. The impish look caused Soi Fon to gulp. Yoruichi's golden eyes then danced with mischief.

"Because I get the feeling to the contrary," the ex-princess commented, sounding as frightfully playful as she looked.

"Yoruichi-sama…" Soi said in a small, slow voice as if pleading to get out of whatever trap her old master seemed to be brewing for her.

Yoruichi chuckled a bit and cuddled herself into Soi's lap just for a moment to see the Chinese woman's reaction. Soi did not disappoint, blushing from her collarbone to the roots of her hair, all of which Yoruichi could plainly see. _Ah, the advantages of being a cat!_ Yoruichi then hopped out of Soi's lap, standing right by the younger woman's feet, but with her little feline back to Soi.

"If you want me to leave, I will, but I'm pretty sure you don't want that," Yoruichi remarked, still sounding rather playful, even though it appeared like she was about to walk away.

Soi was not sure what to say and her brain was no longer working, another symptom that came with being around Yoruichi. All she could do was say the older female's name, which she practically whimpered. Yoruichi laughed again.

"Want me to tell you why I don't think you want me to leave?" the cat asked and Soi was only silent. "When I came in… well, my little Soi was having a dream that she was very involved in," she said almost like a purr as the last word rolled off of her tongue.

Soi stiffened and made a noise in her throat that sounded like it wanted to be a cough and a snort, coming out of both of her nose and mouth. She was now utterly mortified at the thought that Yoruichi might actually know what she was dreaming about. Oh god, what if her Goddess thought that she was a filthy pervert? She would never be able to live that down. Hell, she might move into a cave at the edge of the world to not have to face anyone ever again.

"Was it a naughty dream, Soi?" Yoruichi inquired, leering at her former servant while in the form of a cat. She took a small step toward Soi and sat down to face the younger female for the moment.

Soi only stared as a frightening realization dawned on her. _Oh god, Yoruichi-sama knows_! Okay, well, if she was not currently stuck in another dream, then it was time for her to pack her bags and move to that remote cave she was considering before. It had to be somewhere far away from any and all people… and maybe even all cats, just to be safe.

"Was I in it?" Yoruichi asked innocently, even though it was clear from the look in her eye and the tone of her voice that she knew the answer to that.

When Yoruichi came in, Soi was in the middle of one of her usual dreams. She was tossing, turning, panting, moaning, and whispering the name of a certain feline. It had been a fascinating thing and Yoruichi would be a liar if she said that she was not intrigued on what her former servant was seeing in her sleep. Her sensitive cat nose did help her figure out what was going on and she decided to make herself comfortable on Soi, despite the thoughts that began going through her mind. It had taken a lot of willpower to just go to sleep rather than wake up the second division captain.

"Yoruichi-sama…" Soi whimpered, hoping that she could explain herself, but words were failing her at the moment… well, maybe for a lifetime when it came to her former mistress.

"I think I was in it. What was I doing in it?" Yoruichi wondered aloud, a taunting glint in her eyes.

Soi felt herself blushing again; she was flushed to the point that she was shocked her face did not explode from all of the blood rushing to it. Yoruichi could see the crimson stain on the Chinese woman's face and that only made the deviltry gleaming in her golden eyes flare more so. Soi gulped again; something really bad was about to happen, so she needed to explain herself, her brain told her.

"I… I can explain!" Soi insisted as her mind recalled that there were plenty of other words in existence besides for the name of the ex-princess.

"I don't know. That might be pretty hard to do. It was a dream, after all. Those can be tricky to explain. What about if you let me guess?" Yoruichi proposed with a catty grin. She looked rather eager to guess what she was doing in the dream.

"Tha-that's okay!" Soi protested, waving one hand with the hope that it would keep the cat from speaking.

"Hmm… was I doing something like this?"

Yoruichi did not give Soi to respond or react, transforming from her cat form into her human body. As soon as she was sitting in front of the current commander naked as the day that she was born, Soi fell back, suffering from a vicious nosebleed. Yoruichi could not help laughing; that was just the reaction she was expecting. But, she was not done just yet with freaking out her little Soi.

While the younger female was prone on the deck, blushing and bleeding, Yoruichi crawled over her. She was grinning like the cat that ate the canary while Soi was certain that she was going to bleed to death; she was already feeling a little light headed from the experience. Delight sparkled throughout Yoruichi's golden eyes as she gazed down at the dazed woman.

"Now, you just tell me if I get this right or wrong," Yoruichi commented as she leaned down.

Soi froze up as if she was caught in an iceberg. _Is Yoruichi-sama about to kiss me?_ It seemed that way. She had to be stuck in a dream, she thought. That was the only plausible explanation as to what was happening! But, it did not seem quite like a dream.

"Wait!" Soi begged in a panicked tone as she put her hands up, like she was trying to protect her face from the assault the cocoa-skinned woman had planned.

Yoruichi paused in her actions. She could not help craning an eyebrow in curiosity as she asked what was up. "What's wrong?" her voice was surprisingly gentle and almost nervous. She even looked a little worried.

"This whole thing is wrong," Soi commented with new found vigor. She crawled out from underneath the older warrior, even though she would have loved nothing more than to stay captive.

Yoruichi appeared rather confused by Soi's actions, but she decided to hear the Chinese woman out because it seemed to be important enough for Soi to grow a vocabulary. So, Yoruichi decided to be a good little kitty for a little while, at least until Soi got through what she wanted to say. Once that was done, she figured that she was going to pounce again as that was fun. In fact, she wondered why she never thought to do that sooner in life.

"Yoruichi-sama… I don't think… I don't think you totally understand what's going on," Soi tried to explain, but she was not certain how to get the words out. She also figured it might be best to clean the blood trail off of her face before continuing, which she did.

"I think I know enough," Yoruichi commented with a lecherous smirk on her face. The smile did hide the tiny bit of worry that she was feeling, thinking that she might have read the petite captain wrong. She was rather flattered that the straight-laced and somewhat prudish Soi Fon had been having that little naughty dream about her. She would like to make it a reality now that the thought had been put in her head and she doubted that she was going to let that one go. She hoped that Soi was not having second thoughts or just wanted things to stay a fantasy.

"No, you really don't," Soi stated, shaking her head to emphasize her point.

"Then why don't you tell me," Yoruichi requested, purring at the end of her sentence just to see Soi sweat.

The pale woman did have to fan herself a little bit and she looked away. Damn, it was hot in the room, she thought. She took a deep breath to steady her shaking nerves, feeling anxiety invading her body in heated waves. Shifting a bit in her seat before steeling herself, she was finally ready to unburden herself of a secret that she had kept for well over a century.

"You see… Yoruichi-sama… this isn't the first time I've had dreams like this. In fact, I've been having them for a really long time…" Soi admitted, all the while her eyes focused solely on the floor because it was embarrassing to her to make that brief confession. She supposed that it would have been worse, but then again, Yoruichi had already figured out what was going on and pretty much attacked her. Although, the latter part was more than likely her former master's usual teasing.

"I know," Yoruichi said honestly.

"You know?" Soi asked in an utterly shocked and confused tone. How the hell could the golden-eyed woman know that?

"Yeah, I know," Yoruichi repeated with a nod and a small smile, trying to set the younger woman at ease.

"How… could you?" She asked rather quietly while confusion etched itself in her brows.

Yoruichi grinned that annoyingly cat-like smile of hers, as if she knew the mysteries of the universe and was not looking to share. "I'm not as stupid as you might think," she remarked.

"I never—!" the Chinese female tried to protest, but did not make it past those two words.

Yoruichi held up a hand to cut off her former protége's objection. "Calm down, I didn't mean it like that. You're still as high strung as ever. You should let me help you relax," she proposed with a suggestive look on her elegant face.

"That doesn't tell me how you knew about…" Soi could not bring herself to finish her sentence.

Yoruichi laughed a bit. "Well… sometimes, I used to linger outside your room," she confessed.

"What?" Soi squeaked in surprise and embarrassment to that admission. _Why would Yoruichi-sama linger outside my room long enough to hear my dreams?_

There was a brief nod before the dark-skinned woman continued. "Yes, I used to loiter outside your room some nights. I worried about you or missed your company, even if I just saw you minutes before, or just wanted to be near you for whatever reason. A few times, I went in and slept next to you for a little while."

"Slept… next… to… me?" Soi felt like she might pass out just from hearing such news, even if it happened so far in the past. Just knowing that her Goddess used to sleep next to her back then was enough for her to faint.

There was another confirming nod and a smile. "Yeah, I thought it was so cute how you never woke up."

"Cute?" Soi yelped out the word as her mind tried to fathom what the hell was exactly going on.

"Yes, you were cute," Yoruichi said wholeheartedly and then she thought on it for a moment, putting her finger to her chin. "Let me correct myself, you are cute."

Soi's eyed went wide from the shock of hearing such a thing from the former princess. And then now familiar blush stained her face for the umpteenth time that night. Yoruichi leaned forward to get a better look at the blush, which only made it worse.

"So, now that that's straightened out, let's get around to making the dream a reality," the older warrior suggested with her usual crooked smile. She leaned in again and was about to do just what she claimed by kissing Soi, but she was halted in her attempt once more.

"Wait, Yoruichi-sama!" Soi implored her former master, putting her hands up again as a sign to stop.

Yoruichi ceased her movements again, but stayed right where she was, which was less than an inch from Soi's face. She sighed a bit, her sweet breath hitting Soi full force and the captain felt flame ignite inside of her stomach. Soi's nerves jumped under her pale skin and she begged her body to behave.

"What's wrong now?" Yoruichi asked, making sure to sound extra-dramatic about things. She was pretty sure that they were on the same page now, but for some reason, Soi did not think so.

"There's more to it than just the dreams," Soi answered.

"Oh?" Yoruichi looked as curious as she sounded. _What more could there be to things?_

Soi took a deep breath and reminded herself just who she was. She was the second division captain and one of the most deadly warriors in all of the Soul Society. She did not cower or flee from any situation. She was strong and nothing could stop the force that was Soi Fon.

She then looked Yoruichi dead in the eye. It took all of her willpower not to flee the scene when she locked eyes with those golden orbs. She held firm and told herself that things could not be any worst considering the fact that Yoruichi already knew about the lecherous, passionate side of her affection. It would be better if her former master also knew about her deeper feelings, if only to not make light of the situation that Yoruichi seemed content to press.

"Yoruichi-sama… I… I love you," Soi said quickly.

Yoruichi looked a bit taken aback by the admission for a moment, but then went right back to normal. Soi Fon did not know what to make of that reaction so she said nothing more. She fidgeted with her hands as she waited what seemed like an eternity to her for her former master to say something. She was hoping it was something positive.

"Soi…" Yoruichi said in a tone that sounded very much like disappointment to the younger woman.

Soi's heart sank deeply into her chest and she wished that she could follow it. It took all of her willpower not to show that feeling on her face. She knew that she was about to get hit with something that would just absolutely kill her. It was not that she was expecting Yoruichi to return her feelings full force or even immediately. Hell, part of her never expected Yoruichi to feel the same way. But, she was not expecting the disappointment that seemed to grace Yoruichi's tone. She honestly hoped that she died as soon as her former master finished reprimanding her and destroying her emotional being.

"You must really think I'm stupid, Soi," Yoruichi commented with a playful smile on her face.

"Eh?" Soi made a confused face. No yelling? No admonishments? No negative reaction so far at all? What happened to that disappointed voice? Where the hell had that smile come from?

"I'd kinda figured that out a while ago as well," Yoruichi admitted.

"Wait, what? Why didn't you ever say anything about it then? Why all the silence and… and… and just everything?" Soi inquired, her voice somewhere between bewildered and demanding. Her eyes flashed with the same emotion.

"Little Soi, you think I could spend all that time with you and missed something like that so completely? I never said anything because you never said anything," Yoruichi replied with a bit of a shrug.

"But, if you knew…" Soi swallowed her question. She had already asked it before anyway. It felt like such a waste to repeat it.

"I'm a cat, Soi, and I can only be a cat," Yoruichi answered in a low, almost gentle tone. She did not sound ashamed or proud, but requesting. She reached out a hand to caress Soi's cheek. "Accept me as I am," the older woman seemed to plead.

"I do," Soi whispered.

"Then how about we work on that dream?" Yoruichi suggested, grinning as she spoke.

Soi only gulped, not sure what she should say. She was rather pleased with finally being able to speak her feelings, but now she was a bit nervous about what the woman that she saw as a goddess was thinking of doing. It was overwhelming to her senses, but her brain practically overloaded as she felt something that she had only dreamed about previously. Yoruichi happened to lean in and kiss Soi while she was letting her thoughts distract her.

The kiss was everything that Soi expected and more. It was as if pure paradise was touching her right now, seeping into her, and taking control of her. She half-expected a heavenly choir to start singing as sunlight shone directly down on them. She was glad that such an interruption did not happen, though. She just wanted to experience what was happening without anything going on aside from her and Yoruichi.

The kiss was soft and sweet with some underlying fire driving it forward. Yoruichi was definitely kicking herself mentally for never having done such a thing before, especially when she noticed how much it relaxed Soi. Beyond Soi though, the kiss was pleasing to Yoruichi in a way that she never felt before. It was like clouds floated from Soi's body into her own, allowing for fluffy bliss to course through her system and put her at ease in manner that she never thought possible. She never wanted to pull away, but they did have to breathe at some point in time.

"Yoruichi-sama…" Soi whispered in a happily subdued tone.

"Let me take care of you, my little Soi," Yoruichi said in a rather seductive voice.

The second division captain could only nod. Yoruichi came in for another kiss, more passionate than the first. Soi felt like her heart stopped from the pleasure raging through her like an out-of-control storm. She felt like she wanted to lose control herself, but was not sure how. Yoruichi would assist her in that task.

The former princess kept her mouth on Soi's lips while slowly undressing the usually high-strung warrior. By the time the heated kiss was done, Soi's yukata was pooled around her waist like a mass of useless cloth. As Soi realized that she was sitting nude before her goddess, she got to blushing again. Yoruichi could not help laughing as she finally noticed something interesting—Soi blushed all over her body.

"You are just too adorable," Yoruichi commented sincerely with a pleasant smile as she took in every inch of creamy skin revealed to her.

The words only made Soi blush deeper, which caused her ex-master to laugh. Yoruichi was compelled to kiss Soi again just from how cute the captain looked when she was so flushed. She leaned in deeper for them to experience some skin contact with the kiss, which did increase the sheer bliss that they felt exponentially. Soi could not help sighing when she felt her goddess' flesh even slightly grazing her own; it was like being caressed by the personification of heaven.

Yoruichi upped the delight as she reached up a hand to stroke Soi's milky skin. The Chinese woman could not help moaning in ecstasy into Yoruichi's mouth as she felt calloused fingers caressing her torso. The cocoa-skinned woman could not help smiling mentally, glad for the response that she was getting from Soi. For her part, Soi was just lost in the wonderful treatment that she was getting, not even considering that things could possibly get any better than they were.

The ex-princess decided to lower Soi down to the futon to make things easier. The pale woman did not even notice, focusing on only the enchanting feeling slowly creeping through her like rising water. She muttered her goddess' name as Yoruichi's mouth left her to explore the rest of the petite body lying before her.

"Oh, god," Soi moaned as those talented lips seemed to float across her burning, wanting skin. She had a feeling those would be the last coherent words out of her mouth if this was going to be anything like her dreams.

Soi ended up being the one mimicking a cat, purring loudly, as Yoruichi planted wet, open mouth kisses on her throat and worked her way down. In between kisses, Yoruichi dragged her tongue along the contours of Soi's body, tasting as much of the pale woman as she could. The ebony-haired captain could not help her mewing like a merry feline as a ripple after ripple of ecstasy splashed through her as Yoruichi's lips touched her eager flesh. The younger warrior was quickly shivering from the experience.

"You taste so good, my little bee," the dark-skinned warrior whispered, barely a breath away from Soi Fon's tantalizing skin. Deep, heady moaning was the only response that she received for those words, but that was enough for Yoruichi.

With that said, Yoruichi went back to her task, taking deep pleasure in it too. Hearing Soi's cries was like sweet music to her ears. Feeling Soi tremble beneath her, letting her know just how much the captain was enjoying her work, was enough to get a grin out of the wandering woman, but her mouth was too busy to bother with grinning. She began licking the pale form underneath her, lapping at Soi Fon as if she was a bowl of milk.

Feeling those lips and that tongue on her body made the petite woman squirm and wiggle. The movement pressed her closer to her goddess, making their bodies meet, which only drove her wilder. Her body could not keep still, wanting more and more of Yoruichi.

"Yoru…" Soi panted, trying her best to say her former master's name, but unable to get more than half out. The attempted earned her more of what she wanted, though.

Soi was hit with a surprise that made her squeal out loud and then she let out a choked gasp. Yoruichi had latched onto her right breast with her mouth and was now applying a mind-numbing amount of pressure. Adding to that was the chocolate hand that occupied the left mound and was gently kneading it in a way that could only be described as perfect. Soi's hands suddenly had minds of their own and found their way to Yoruichi's back. She caressed and gripped at her former master's shoulder blades as Yoruichi carried on.

Soi's grip almost seemed to suggest that she would never let go of Yoruichi, even though she claimed to accept that her love was a cat. Being a cat meant that Yoruichi would never settle down, never stay in one place for too long. She was a wanderer, yet it seemed like Soi wanted to hold onto her forever. The hold actually made Yoruichi slightly nervous and she had to stop for a moment.

"Soi…" Yoruichi muttered, her golden eyes conveying her question more than any words would. She was asking if Soi truly understood her, if the younger woman honestly knew and accepted what she was getting herself, her heart, into.

The captain looked down at the sound of her name and read Yoruichi's eyes perfectly. She nodded to show that she did understand what she was getting into and that she wanted to dive into it head first, so to speak. She supposed that she would have to explain why she was holding onto Yoruichi as if she was a chain, though.

Taking a deep breath, it took a few seconds for Soi to gather enough brain cells to form a complete and well-thought out sentence. "You'll always be with me in spirit at least. I'll always be thinking of you. When you're with me, I would like to hold you for as long as you'll let me," the pale woman said with affection clear in her voice.

Yoruichi smiled; it was not her usual crooked, playful grin, but she genuinely smiled. "I'll always come back," she promised in a low, but perfectly clear tone laced with emotion. Sometimes, it just might take a little longer sometimes than others. "And, I would love for you to hold me whenever we're together," she added.

Soi nodded to show that she understood that and that she utterly believed it. She did not get much time to nod though because Yoruichi went right back to her task with more vigor than before. Soi accidentally scratched Yoruichi's back when the contact was made again. The former princess ignored the jolt of pain that coursed through her as those blunt nails racked across her shoulders, but she did decide to quest further since it was apparent that Soi was enjoying their time together. Honestly, she would not mind a few more scratches on her back to let her know that she was pleasing the smaller woman.

Yoruichi journeyed south, leaving a trail of wet, tender kisses and taunting licks in her wake. Soi squirmed a bit when she felt the movement and decided to look down just in time to see Yoruichi eyeing her with a predatory glint in her golden eyes and that damnable cat-like grin on her face. Soi felt butterflies gathering in her stomach as she realized what was going to happen next.

The captain was actually about to protest or at least request a moment to gather herself, but Yoruichi did not give her a chance. The cocoa-skinned woman went in for the prize and explored it with all of the curiosity that one would expect of a cat. Soi cried out, shouting Yoruichi's name to the ceiling, as soon as she felt that cool mouth on her burning center. Soi could not be certain, as her mind could not focus on much more than what her former master was doing to her, but she was pretty sure that she melted at that point. It was the only way that she could explain why she felt like a puddle of nothing but pure and intense pleasure.

Noises escaped Soi that she would have denied making if she was aware that she was making them. Her hands moved on their own, clutching Yoruichi's shoulders and applying pressure that would probably leave bruises. Yoruichi did not complain or even seem to notice, having much more important matters on her mind.

Yoruichi lapped at Soi again, much like a happy kitten. She decided that there was no sweeter taste in existence than her Soi. No sweeter smell either, she corrected herself as she inhaled the divine aroma coming for her sweat-covered lover. Her hands busied themselves by remaining at Soi's torso, delighting in deeply caressing her and feeling her writhe underneath them like a captured snake.

"You taste so good," Yoruichi muttered almost in reverence before continuing to drink from the pale woman. "Everything about you is so good," she added, hands kneading and caressing Soi's small breasts. "I want you so much," she whispered.

The words touched Soi and caused her to shudder. A loud, long moan exited her mouth as Yoruichi seemed to turn her inside out with her hands, lips, and tongue. Before long, Soi was unconsciously pushing herself further into Yoruichi, silently begging for more. The older woman had no problem with complying with the demand and the moment that she delivered, Soi screamed in a manner that no one had ever heard before. Seconds later, Soi peaked and nearly passed out from the fantastic feeling that rushed through her body like a rogue wave.

By the time Soi recovered from that soul shattering experience, Yoruichi was looming over her, staring down at her with mischief and affection in her burning amber gaze. She was wearing her usual grin, seeming amused by her ability to almost make Soi unconscious. Soi probably would have blushed if she had the brain power to be self-conscious anyway.

"Yoruichi-sama, that was… that was…" Words failed Soi. There was nothing for her in the known universe to describe what just happened to her and how it felt.

"Ride's not over yet," Yoruichi commented, sounding confident as always.

"No?" Soi was surprised by that and kind of uncertain if she would be able to survive more. Anything else as intense as that might blow her head off of her shoulders, she considered.

"Not by a long shot," Yoruichi assured the younger female, still grinning up a storm.

Soi could only wonder what was next, but was soon to find out. Yoruichi positioned herself over Soi, taking a pale leg and moving it up to rest on her shoulder. Silver eyes watched with great attention as Yoruichi settled in between her legs.

"Are you comfortable?" Yoruichi inquired since she did have Soi's leg up at an angle on her shoulder.

"F… fine…" Soi replied, wondering just what the older woman was going to do now. She quickly found out.

The chocolate-skinned woman rocked her hips into the petite female. Soi felt like a shot of electricity from below her navel that rocketed through her whole body. Chocolate met cream in smooth rhythm; Soi whimpered and whined underneath Yoruichi, who was working up her own sweat now.

"Yoruichi-sama…" Soi breathed out the name as tears of joy and bliss collected her in hers, sliding down the side of her face.

Yoruichi leaned down and kissed Soi's slightly gapping mouth. The kiss was scorching hot, like the movements of their bodies as one. Their souls seemed to merge into one being as they tasted each other. It was simply incredible.

-8-8-8-8-

Soi woke up thanks to the intrusion of sunlight and happy birds chirping. She felt like she could relate to the birds, who usually would have just gotten on her nerves. She guessed that her feelings were because of what she suspected was a dream last night. It was different from her other dreams, even though it was went almost the same way that most of her dreams went. There was just something different about it that she could not put her finger on. And then she glanced to her right side to see a cat sleeping on her pillow.

"Yoruichi-sama!" Soi shrieked in surprise.

"Keep it down a bit, Soi. I'll make you scream later on, after my nap," Yoruichi muttered and then opened an eye just to see the shocked expression on Soi's face that was accompanied by that very adorable full-body blush. With that in mind, Yoruichi went back to sleep while Soi tried to get over the shell shock that what had happened last night was a-dream-come-true.

-8-8-8-8-

The end.


End file.
